Wenham Boards Back Override, Roof Debt Exclusion, Two New Stabilization Funds for Town Meeting

WENHAM — March 3, 2026 — Wenham Select Board and Finance Committee jointly endorse override, roof debt exclusion, and new stabilization funds for April 9 Town Meeting. The two boards met jointly Tuesday and voted favorable recommendations on more than 20 warrant articles for the Annual Town Meeting, which will be held Thursday, April 9, at 6 p.m. at the Bennett Center at Gordon College. The centerpiece financial articles include a $438,589 operational override for schools and town — recommended 4-1 by the Select Board, with Karen Agar dissenting — and a debt exclusion for a Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School roof replacement totaling approximately $10.3 million, with Wenham's estimated share at roughly $1.9 million after a projected $4.675 million Massachusetts School Building Authority reimbursement. Both boards also unanimously backed creation of a Building Stabilization Fund and a Vehicle and Equipment Stabilization Fund, seeded with $150,000 in free cash to begin planning for DPW and fire station renovations and an eventual ambulance replacement. Finance and Advisory Committee Chair Finn Sprague pushed back on a colleague's suggestion to apply more free cash to reduce the override, citing Hamilton's experience using one-time funds to avoid an override: "They were using free cash to avoid an override last year and now they're kind of really forced to dig out of a hole." A renewable energy lease article and a board membership restriction bylaw were deferred to the March 17 Select Board meeting.